This file of Giannini's correspondence as President and as Chairman of the Board of United Artists (UA) was compiled by Giannini's assistant, Thomas L. Walker, (Named a UA vice president in December 1937) and by Leo F. Samuels, assistant secretary. The file contains almost daily correspondence between Giannini, who remained in Beverly Hills, California, and the corporation's home office in New York City. This correspondence, usually drafted by either Walker or Samuels, sometimes at Giannini's direction and sometimes on their own initiative, deals with the daily affairs of the corporation, with occasional letters relating to the personal affairs of Giannini and Walker.
Among those with whom the Giannini office corresponded were: George Archibald, secretary and director of the London Subsidiary; Harry D. Buckley, UA vice president; F.M. Guedalla, solicitor for the British corporation; Arthur W. Kelly, vice president of UA in charge of foreign sales; Walter Liebler, foreign comptroller; H.J. Muller, comptroller (and treasurer after 1935); T.P. Mulrooney, foreign sales manager; Dennis F. (“Cap”) and Paul D. O'Brien of the law firm of O'Brien, Driscoll and Raftery which acted as UA's counsel; George J. Schaefer, a vice president and director of domestic sales distribution; Harry W. Schroeder of the foreign department; Murray Silverstone, chairman and managing director of the English corporation; and Loyd Wright, secretary of the corporation.
The file also contains correspondence with producers, for example, Walt Disney and Alexander Korda; job applications; and letters offering distribution rights to motion pictures and other business opportunities. Included are materials dealing with insurance, janitorial service, and building contractors and suppliers.
The file consists almost exclusively of the most routine of policy correspondence. No mention is made of the circumstances surrounding Giannini's appointment to the presidency, nor to the reasons for his abrupt resignation nor to the upheavals among the stockholders during this period. It is reasonable to conjecture that Giannini kept a separate office where the more sensitive and informative correspondence remained after his departure from United Artists.
The file is arranged alphabetically by subject and correspondent, and chronologically thereunder.
